She slid her hands up his chest to rest on his shoulders. She wanted to dig her fingers into him but resisted. He seemed so relaxed and she was trying to retain some semblance of control—and not pounce on him like a starving animal.
His other hand made its way down to her hip, where he held on to her with more pressure than necessary. And every part of her being liked it. He was holding on to her as if he didn’t want to let go.
Good, because the feeling was mutual. And she wasn’t going anywhere. Not right now anyway. She thought he might shift lower and push her dress up, but he continued teasing her tongue with his, his kisses sensual and expert.
The ache between her legs grew as he increased the intensity of his kisses.
Giving in to her earlier thought, she shifted and did straddle him, feeling a little out of control even as she moved. When she did, he let out a tortured-sounding groan and grabbed onto her hips as he rolled his against her. She had on panties and leggings under her dress but nothing could hide his erection. She shifted over his hard length, moaning at the feel of his erection teasing her clit. He groaned again, his grip on her hips tightening.
His chest rose and fell harshly as he pulled back, his eyes crystal clear as he watched her. “Stopping is the last thing I want to do, but I think we need to,” he rasped out, sounding as tortured as she felt.
He wanted to stop? A hint of embarrassment slid through her. She wanted to ask why, but again, she wasn’t that bold. Not yet anyway. And they were moving really fast. Even if she thought she might want a one-night stand, she wasn’t completely sure, so yes, stopping was probably a good idea. Even if she really, really wanted to see where this led to.
In response, she nipped his bottom lip once and slid off him.
She loved that he groaned again, adjusted himself as she sat next to him.
Just like that, their surroundings came back into place and she realized the movie was still playing. She hadn’t even heard the sound as they’d been making out, as she’d been grinding her body against his. She’d been too focused on his teasing tongue and the way he made her feel.
Not so subtly, he grabbed a pillow and put it over his lap as she curled into him. She giggled lightly but didn’t say anything else as they settled in to watch the movie.
She wasn’t sure what it was about him, but everything about tonight felt kind of perfect, even if she was still unsatisfied. But maybe that was a good thing, because she wanted more of this. More of him. And deep down, she was pretty sure she wanted more than one night.
She’d expected him to take her somewhere fancy and then maybe a movie afterward. Technically they’d done dinner and now a movie, but she liked this intimate atmosphere a lot better than if they’d gone out. Their conversation over dinner had felt more real than small, fake chitchat. Normally she didn’t even open up to people because of the way she’d grown up, but with Axel she felt freer to be herself. Which was strange in itself. And for once she wasn’t going to overanalyze why.
She settled her head on his shoulder and tried to pay attention to the movie instead of focusing on the sensation of his muscular body against hers. It was damn hard when she had a feeling that if they did get naked, it would be incredible between them. Maybe after the movie he would want to continue what they’d started. She could hope.
Chapter 6
—Sometimes the wrong choices bring us to the right places.—
Axel glanced over at Hadley who was dozing on his couch. She’d dropped off a couple hours ago close to the end of the movie and he hadn’t wanted to wake her. Her falling asleep had actually worked in his favor since he was hoping that she would just stay the night in the guest room if she woke up. It was a perfect excuse not to take her home. Obviously he would if she wanted to, but keeping her here would keep him sane—and her safe.
He might actually get a few hours of sleep since he wouldn’t be constantly monitoring the cameras outside her place.
At that thought he looked back down at his laptop. He’d been working quietly on the other couch since she’d fallen asleep. After draping a blanket over her, he’d dimmed all the lights and could now focus on her cameras, plus the ones he’d set up at his rental condo, and monitor for any incoming info from Isaac.
He finished fast-forwarding through another one of the camera feeds outside her house. Nothing out of the ordinary, just as the last one had been fine. Then he started on the next one. Again nothing strange. Just random animals, because he’d set the sensitivity level of the cameras too high. So it was picking up all movement, including raccoons.
Pressing pause, his gaze strayed to her again even though he told himself not to want her, not to watch her. She was definitely not the type of woman for him.
But now that he’d gotten a taste of her, he was pretty certain he was screwed. Because she was everything he’d never known he wanted. God, she was going to hate him when he told her what he did for a living. Who he was. He just couldn’t see a way around not telling her.
When an incoming message softly pinged, he pulled a new screen up. It was from his contact.
Got some movement at the marina, two individuals are checking out the car you ditched there. Watching them from the local camera.
Axel stilled at that message. That could mean any number of things. It could just be someone looking to steal it. He had left the keys in the ignition, after all. He’d wiped it down and if someone stole it, even better for him. There’d be so much DNA inside it that it would never be linked back to him. He’d thought about burning it, but ditching it had been easier given the location. And less likely to draw attention to it for a while. He hadn’t wanted to return and grab it, putting himself at more risk. Because of the short nature of this job, he hadn’t realized there was a camera on site. He’d found out about it afterward and was glad there was only one. Instead of tampering with it or removing it, he’d asked Isaac to hack into it and monitor it—for a fee, of course. The man didn’t work for free.
Fingers moving quickly across the keyboard, he typed back, Teenagers looking to steal it?
The response was almost immediate. No. They move like pros. Checking every inch of the car. It even looks as if they’re dusting it for fingerprints.
Yeah, good luck with that. He’d worn gloves and had been sure to have everything wiped down even before he’d grabbed the asshole who’d tried to take Hadley.
But he didn’t like that someone was checking out his vehicle. It could mean he’d been spotted leaving the college, which was a possibility even though he’d been careful and had worn a hat, gloves and kept his ears covered. The beard had helped too. But this might mean that one of the kidnappers looking for Hadley was working with someone.
From the information he had on the other two men who’d been hired, it didn’t seem plausible. He typed back, What do they look like?
I can’t get a good visual—faces are covered by hats, and what are probably wigs covering their ears—and I’m 99% sure someone else is currently hacked into the camera system as well.
Well that was interesting. And not the kind of interesting that he liked. At least he didn’t have anything to worry about as far as the body. He’d disposed of it well. And he hadn’t returned to the marina, instead docking the boat elsewhere.
Send me any information including video footage. It was doubtful he’d recognize anyone disguised but it didn’t hurt to watch it.
It’ll cost you.
Yeah, no shit. Instead of typing what he thought, he simply said Bill me.